Home Is Where The Cows Roam
by PrismaPup7
Summary: Shiro discovers something worrying about Lance, and he plans to join forces with the rest of the team to fix it. (Rated T for slight violence and other stuff. Set before Shiro's disappearance. Strictly 'planetonic.')
1. Talking to the Cow

**Ok, so this is rated 'T' for depression stuff and some violence... also bc I'm paranoid.**

**This is my first fan-fiction ever posted, and I'm really nervous about it. I'm sorry for the lack of indenting, and any grammatical mistakes, but I don't have anyone to beta-read or correct my mistakes.**

**Sorry if they seem a bit OOC - I tried my best, but I'm not sure if I captured their characters right.**

**This is supposed to be family-feels, not shipping. It's strictly 'planetonic.' Also, I wrote this after finishing season eight, because THE FEELS ARE REAL. This show has taken my heart and shattered it into a million jagged pieces that stab me anytime I think about that final episode.**

**Lance's family is different than the canon one, mostly because it's a fan-fiction and I can do what I want. Don't judge me!**

**Anyways, I hope you enjoy! Please let me know what you thought in your reviews, and be sure to point out where I can improve! I'm all for constructive criticism!**

* * *

Shiro groaned, running his real hand down his face as he ventured down one of the castle's many halls. He'd thought his nightmares had been getting better- he hadn't had one in at least a week, but now the streak had ended.

He knew full-well that once he'd woken up from a particularly bad one, there was no going back to sleep. Instead of lying in bed and letting it fester, Shiro usually headed to the training room, where he would sometimes find Keith. It was always nice to blow off steam by sparring with the younger teen, mostly because Keith never asked questions, and Shiro never told him off for being awake so late/early.

He was half-hoping that Keith would be up for a few rounds, but he knew that it would be better if Keith wasn't even awake in the first place. Everyone was running low on energy, the stress building up. Shiro had noticed it in everyone, even himself.

Hunk spent a lot more time in the kitchen, venting all his frustrations into cooking. Pidge had gotten into the nasty habit of disappearing into her room or the hangar for hours on end, never coming off her laptop unless someone dragged her away forcibly.

Keith had been acting more... hot-tempered. He snapped at everyone more often than he usually did, drawing back like a turtle into its shell whenever someone confronted him about it. As for Allura- Shiro didn't know her as well, but he could tell that all the political issues from the many different planets they were rescuing were starting to get to her.

He himself had also been more snappy, forcing the others to train more in an effort to improve their skills. He knew he was being a bit harsh, but they needed to learn. With Coran, it was extremely obvious. The orange-haired Altean had been working himself to the bone cleaning and repairing the ship, and it was showing, with the way his normally-perfect mustache was beginning to droop.

Lance, however, was a mystery. Shiro admired him for his never-ending optimism, but recently, his jokes were only annoying the team. Shiro couldn't tell whether the stress was affecting him or not - Lance always had a smile, even when Keith insulted him to his face, or when Pidge yelled at him for interrupting her coding time when he'd tried to bring her to dinner.

Shiro stopped suddenly, frowning as he scanned his surroundings. He'd been so lost in thought, he'd ended up walking further than he'd intended. He rarely came over to this side of the castle, mainly because most of the rooms were empty, save for the one where Kaltenecker lived.

It had previously been the room where King Alfor's memories were stored, but ever since the castle's corruption, it had been empty- until Lance had brought the cow with him back to the ship. Since they were unsure on how exactly to take care of an earth cow in the middle of space, Pidge, Hunk, and Coran had worked on a program to simulate Earth, instead of Altea, to keep the cow comfortable. Lance's orders, not Shiro's.

Shiro shook his head fondly, glancing at Kaltenecker's door. It wouldn't hurt to go in and hang out for a bit, would it? Kaltenecker certainly wouldn't mind- she was a cow, after all- and besides, Shiro wasn't in the mood to fight robots after having a nightmare about the Arena.

He approached the door, but paused at the last second, hand poised over the open button. Did he hear... voices?

Shiro wasn't one for eavesdropping, but the thought of someone talking to Kaltenecker had him slightly curious. He leaned in close, pressing his ear against the metal door, straining to make out the words.

_"Useless,"_ the words drifted through the thick door, barely audible. _"Seventh wheel - stupid - worthless - who even cares -"_

Shiro covered his mouth in shock. What... Who was that?! Not able to stand hearing those self-deprecating words any longer, Shiro slammed his hand down on the button, eyes adjusting to the darker atmosphere.

The sky had been set to night, the stars twinkling merrily above the grassy fields. There, in front of Kaltenecker's stable, a long, lanky shadow turned in alarm, nearly falling off the stool they were sitting on. Kaltenecker simply snorted, tail swishing as she lumbered away to graze in a corner, leaving the two humans alone.

_Lance_, Shiro realized with a deep sense of horror and confusion. There was no way Lance had said those things... Unless he'd been complaining about Keith. Yet some horrible, dark part of Shiro knew better. Lance never, _ever _ hurt someone's feelings on purpose. He always knew how to push their buttons, but he never crossed the line between 'playful' and 'hurtful'. It was just the way Lance was.

"S-Shiro!" Lance stuttered, clearly startled. Shiro approached slowly, eyes following Lance as he wiped at his face with the sleeve of his blue pajama shirt. "I-I didn't know you were awake," the boy said, giving the Black Paladin a bright smile.

Shiro's heart cracked as he suddenly realized that the smile didn't reach his eyes. It hadn't for a while now. How had nobody noticed? Chewing at his lip, Shiro gestured to a stool across from Lance. "You don't mind if I..."

Lance shrugged, the smile never faltering. "Go ahead!"

Once Shiro had been situated, the Cuban tilted his head to the side. "Soooo..." he started, drawing out the 'o', "what's got you up so late? I know you usually hang out in the training arena with Keith, so why'd you come here?"

Shiro started in surprise. "Did Keith tell you about that?" he asked curiously. Lance and Keith had an... interesting relationship. He doubted that Keith had told Lance about their nightly training - but how else would Lance know about it?

Lance shrugged in response, answering Shiro's unspoken question. "No way! Mullet barely speaks to me as it is! Usually when I'm up and wanna train late at night, I hear you guys in there, so I just head to either here or the bridge."

Well, this was news to Shiro. He decided to ignore the nickname Keith hated oh-so-much, knowing that scolding Lance wouldn't accomplish anything. "Huh, are we really that loud?"

"Not that loud. Sometimes I watch you guys, 'cause there's nothing else to do."

Shiro frowned. "Really? I've never noticed you before..." He trailed off, mind straining to remember whether he'd seen any flashes of blue while he and Keith sparred. Nothing came to mind. Shiro knew that Lance could be quiet when he needed to, but this was startling.

"So, why are you up?" Shiro questioned instead, deciding not to ask how exactly Lance had stayed unnoticed. Lance shifted, the smile faltering for just a tick. "Um, well..." The teen pursed his lips.

"Just... couldn't sleep," he settled on. Shiro was not satisfied with the incredibly vague answer, and opened his mouth to ask again before Lance cut him off. "Hey, wait a tick!" Lance pointed a finger at Shiro's face. "I asked you first!"

Shiro rolled his eyes in exasperation, but it quickly faded as his dream came flooding back. He suppressed a shudder, lips turning downwards. "Just a bad dream. Don't worry, I'm used to it."

Lance's ocean-blue eyes suddenly sparkled in concern, and he scooted his stool closer. "Wanna talk about it?" he asked, tone gentle. "Maria always felt better when she told me about her nightmares."

Shiro, despite the situation, almost laughed. "Lance, I'm not your younger sibling. I'll be fine - I know how to deal with it."

Lance grinned back, eyes mischievous. "Yeah, I know. You're more like the dad than anything." He continued on, ignoring Shiro's embarrassed sputtering, expression softening. "But everyone needs help at some point in their lives, no matter their age. Just know that I'll listen, if you ever want to talk about it."

Shiro's joking reply of, "You? _Quiet?"_ fell flat before it even left his mouth when he realized that Lance was being completely sincere. He felt his heart fill with affection for the young Paladin. What had they done to gain such a special, loving boy like this in their space family?

That train of thought led to memories of why he'd even come into the room in the first place, and the fuzzy feeling was replaced with dread.

"Lance..." he started slowly, charcoal eyes meeting wide blue ones. "Before I came in, I... heard you saying some things."

Had he not been paying attention, he wouldn't have caught Lance's miniscule flinch. The Cuban smiled nervously, fidgeting with his fingers. "Uh... how much did you hear?"

"Enough. Lance, who were you talking about?"

Lance looked like he was at a loss for words. He glanced over at Kaltenecker, then sighed and stared at his lap. "Um... Well, I could've been talking about anyone really - this isn't important, it's just this random person you wouldn't know -"

_"Lance."_

Lance gulped audibly, his body hunching in on himself. His eyes glittered darkly, unreadable.

_Please say it isn't yourself, please say it isn't yourself,_ Shiro's mind chanted like a mantra, watching Lance carefully. _Please, please._

Lance glanced up, shame glittering in his eyes. "...Isn't it obvious? It's me."

Shiro's heart stopped.

His head went fuzzy as Lance began to ramble, fingernails digging into his legs. "I mean, it should be completely obvious. Hunk and Pidge are the smart ones, you and Keith are talented at literally _everything, _ Allura's got super-awesome magic powers, and Coran keeps the ship running. I do absolutely _nothing _ useful. I'm just the stupid goofball who gets on everybody's nerves. I don't even belong here. I don't-"

Lance choked on a sob, entire body trembling, and Shiro's instincts took over. He grabbed Lance by the shoulders, shaking him firmly. _"Stop that,_" he ordered, eyes fiery. "You are _not _ useless, and you _certainly _ belong here. Who helps taste-test Hunk's alien food, even if they get food-poisoning?" Lance stayed quiet, so he continued.

"Who makes sure Pidge is there for every meal, and plays video games with her to keep her happy? Who is the only one daring enough to approach Keith when he's especially hurting and angry?"

When Lance didn't respond, staring wide-eyed at him, Shiro answered for him. _"You, _ you loveable idiot. The team would fall apart without you. The Blue Lion is the heart of the team, holding them together even in the toughest times. So never, _ever_ think that you're worthless, because Lance?"

He held the fragile boy's gaze, his entire face serious. "You are _priceless._"

Lance broke down, all but flinging himself into Shiro's lap. He buried his head into the older one's shoulder, sobbing and gasping and shaking. Shiro was taken aback by now _small _ Lance seemed, all curled up. _"L-lo siento," _ he whispered, and it took a minute for Shiro to translate. His Spanish was rather rusty, but he'd heard Lance say it enough times in the past to remember what it meant.

"Don't be sorry," Shiro scolded, though his tone was gentle as he wrapped his arms around Lance. "Just don't think that we don't care about you, because we _do._ All of us. Even Keith - don't tell him I told you."

Lance gave him a watery laugh, hugging Shiro tightly in return. "_Gracias,_" he said instead - then, as an afterthought, added teasingly, _"Space dad."_

Shiro laughed at that, not feeling insulted in the slightest. Finally, Lance pulled away, and even though his eyes were red and puffy, and had tear-streaks down his cheeks, he beamed up at Shiro.

Shiro's smile softened. "There's the Lance I know." He ruffled the Cuban's hair, and said Cuban squawked in protest, ducking away. "Hey!"

"You do realize it was already messed up, right? It's the middle of the night."

"Actually," Lance rebutted, "it's two in the morning, and you just made it worse! You know I hate it when people mess with my hair!"

"I know. That's why I did it."

"I hate you so much."

Shiro threw his head back and flat-out cackled at Lance's wounded expression. Lance stuck his lower lip out in a pout, flopping down into Shiro's lap like a cat. "You monster, laughing at my pain."

Yet he couldn't stop the giggle that escaped him, and before long, both of them were a laughing mess on the floor, Lance dragging Shiro down off the stool and into the grass. They lay on their backs, staring up at the familiar constellations.

After a comfortable silence, when Shiro had almost drifted off, his nightmare seemingly years away, Lance spoke quietly. "I miss home."

Shiro's chest tightened at the heartbroken tone of Lance's voice. "I know. Me too. But, once we defeat Zarkon and the rest of the Galra, we'll be able to go home."

Lance sighed softly. "I know. I just. . . I wish I knew how my family is doing. Mama must be devastated - they probably think I'm dead."

"Well then, you'll just have to prove them wrong when you come back," Shiro said confidently.

He could hear Lance's giggle beside him, and he had no doubt that the Blue Paladin was grinning like an idiot. "Yeah, I guess so. Man, Veronica is gonna _kill _ me for adventuring into space before her."

"Oh yeah?" Curiosity seized Shiro. "Tell me about them - your family, I mean," he clarified, debating whether it was too soon to bring it up. "I've heard bits and pieces, but you've never really had the chance to tell me about them."

Lance sighed, and Shiro was relieved to hear that it was a content sigh, not melancholy. "_Dios mio,_ where do I even start? Ok, so I've got two older sisters, Veronica and Sasha, my older brother, Luis, his wife Lisa..."

And there they spent the rest of the night on the grass, telling stories about their families and making stupid jokes - _"Hi hungry, I'm Shiro!" "I knew you were the space dad!" -_

_"Wait, you're telling me that you, a seven-year-old, tackled this fifth-grader while cursing in Spanish?!" "Yep. Mama was furious when I came home with a black-eye, but Marco was flat-out impressed."_

_"Lance!"_

And it was the best night Shiro had had in months.


	2. The Orange Lion?

**Okay, so after deciding to turn this into an actual story, I realized that this chapter might seem a bit out of place, so sorry. I'm not removing it or re-writing it though, bc I'm lazy.**

* * *

"Hey, if Coran got a lion, which one do you think it would be?"

"What?" Pidge glanced up from her laptop to Lance in confusion, fingers pausing. The Blue Paladin was lying stomach-first on the couch across from her, his chin propped up in his hands. Keith, sitting next to her, echoed her question, but in a more disbelieving tone.

All five of the Paladins had gathered in the lounge after a long, tough battle against the Galra, for "bonding time", as Shiro had dubbed it. They'd all ended up doing their own things, too worn out to communicate with each other, much to Shiro's chagrin. Lance had been the first one to break the silence in an hour, and with a rather strange question at that.

"I _said_, if Coran got a lion, which lion do you think he'd get?" Lance repeated, a tad impatiently.

Pidge briefly wondered whether Lance was sleep-deprived, then decided it was just Lance. She turned her attention back to her laptop, yet she couldn't help musing over the question in her head, now that she was curious. Stupid Lance and his stupid questions that made everyone think.

"Hmm..." Hunk tapped his chin, and Pidge gaped at him with unmasked horror. If Hunk answered, it would probably lead to a heated debate. Keith seemed to have the same thought-process; he shot a venomous glare in the Yellow Paladin's direction.

Hunk either didn't notice or didn't care. "I think... Maybe the Blue Lion?" He sounded very uncertain, eyes flicking over to gauge Lance's reaction.

Lance, however, just shrugged in indifference. "I've always just thought that he'd get this, like, super-secret lion that forms into an orange mustache or something. The Orange Lion."

Pidge snorted in a very un-ladylike manner, giving up on her computer coding. The mental image of a giant, orange mustache on Voltron was too ridiculous to even comprehend.

Hunk frowned, seemingly unaffected. "Nah. I mean, it'd have to be built for him if it turned into a mustache. I think he'd be a purple lion that turns into... I don't know, a fedora?"

Pidge outright cackled at that, and she could tell that Keith and Shiro found it entertaining as well, if the tiny smiles on their faces were any indication. She shut her laptop and leaned forward, grinning like a maniac. "Ooh, or a maroon lion that makes the spleen!"

"Wha- the spleen?! What the heck would the 'Spleen of Voltron' do?!" Lance asked incrediously, though Pidge could tell he was trying his best not to laugh.

"I don't know, you tell me! It makes just as much sense as a mustache!"

The three of them were in hysterics now, Keith and Shiro watching in amusement.

"A mustache makes _perfect _sense! It adds to the _charm _of Voltron!"

"Yeah, but a spleen is an actual _useful _part of the human body! A giant, bushy mustache would just get in the way!"

"Wait, wait, wait," Hunk cut in. "The fedora would be charming too! And we could, like, tip it to planets as a greeting! Way better than a spleen or a mustache! Where would the spleen even go?!"

"Hey, what about a gray appendix?" Keith suggested, flipping his hand through the air. "That sounds _way _better than a huge, brightly-colored accessory."

Lance furrowed his eyebrows, smile fading. "Are you insinuating that Coran is useless? 'Cause that's not nice at all, Mullet."

"_Don't _call me- ah, never mind. And no, why would you think that? The appendix is an organ, right?"

Pidge frowned at the confused teen over the frames of her glasses. "You seriously don't know that the appendix sometimes has to be removed surgically? It doesn't do much."

"What?!" Keith stared at her. "Seriously?!"

"Yes, seriously," Hunk piped up from his spot next to Shiro.

"Well, this got _serious,_" Lance joked, earning a few delayed groans. "Oh, c'mon, that was a good one!"

"The day you make a good joke is the day I see pigs fly," Keith grumbled. He ignored Lance's indignant, _"Hey!"_ in favor of grinning at Pidge. "Ok then, I'll go with the spleen idea."

"How _dare _you, Mullet, siding with the enemy!" Lance yelled dramatically, flopping onto his side.

Pidge rolled her eyes and smiled triumphantly. "Ha! See? Also, I thought Keith _was _your enemy."

"I- well- The enemy of my enemy is my friend!" Lance announced, sticking a fist in the air. "Awesome decorations, _unite!"_

Hunk shifted over to Lance, bumping their fists together. "Yeah, man! Fedoras and mustaches rule!"

"So, _Shiro,"_ Lance drawled, ocean-blue eyes landing on the suddenly-nervous adult. "Which side do you choose? The totally-awesome one - _that's us_ \- or the completely _boring_ one." He spared a non-impressed glance in Pidge and Keith's direction.

_"Hey!" _Keith objected sourly, while Pidge crossed her arms and sniffed in disdain, refusing to look at either of the traitors.

"Uh..." Shiro seemed to be at a loss for words. He kept glancing back and forth between the two sides, stuck in the middle. "Why don't we just ask Coran himself?" he finally suggested.

Pidge found herself agreeing, along with Hunk and Keith. Lance, however, stuck his tongue out childishly. "That's no fun at all!" he complained.

"Well, too bad," Pidge replied, already halfway across the room as she followed Shiro. Keith and Hunk trailed behind her, ignoring Lance's grumbling of, "You guys are _boring."_

After a short search, the group of five finally found Coran on the bridge, dusting off their chairs. He looked up in surprise as they entered, setting the duster aside. "Is there anything I can do for you?" he asked.

"Actually, yes," Shiro answered. He exchanged looks with the others, then turned back to Coran. "We were wondering... If you could ride a lion, which one do you think it'd be?"

The Altean twisted his mustache for a tick, then laughed, though it seemed a bit nervous. "What brought this up? Surely one of you is not leaving?"

Shiro shook his head furiously. "No! No, no, not at all! It was just a question Lance asked, so we decided to see what you would say."

"Ah." Coran relaxed, the tension in his shoulders disappearing. He stared down at the floor, eyes narrowed in thought for only a few seconds.

"Well, I would say none of them!" He finally answered cheerfully, looking up. "You're all perfectly up to the task, Paladins!"

His smile twitched. "Though, if Alfor had let me have my way, Voltron would have a rather dashing-" Here, he paused to preen his mustache, "-orange mustache."

"HA!" Lance crowed, pumping a fist into the air. "I _knew it!"_

Pidge glared at the Blue Paladin as he engaged in one of the weirdest victory dances she'd ever witnessed. She couldn't believe that _Lance_ had been right, of all people! _Lance!_

Coran frowned, concerned, in Lance's direction. "Is Number Three okay? He appears to be in some form of pain."

Keith dragged a hand down his face in exasperation as Lance nearly tripped over a crack in the floor, while Shiro chuckled fondly. "No, that's just Lance being Lance," the Black Paladin answered.

Hunk finally decided that he'd had enough of Lance prancing around like a show-horse. He gave the Cuban a pleading look, taking a step forward with his hands outstretched, like he was approaching a rabid animal. "Ok, Lance, calm down, it was just a question. Don't start doing cartwheels or whatever."

_"He can do cartwheels?!" _Pidge mouthed at Keith, who shrugged helplessly in response.

Her question was answered a tick later as Lance flippin' _did a cartwheel_ (A really good one as well), dodging Hunk. "Oh c'mon, let me have this!" he shouted, climbing onto Keith's chair like a cat. "It's not often I'm right about things!"

For some reason, this statement left a bad taste in Pidge's mouth, but before she could think too much on it, Lance had escaped out of the bridge, skipping like a madman down the halls. Hunk and Keith were in close pursuit, yelling for him to stop so Keith could punch him for torturing his eyes.

She glanced over at Shiro, who seemed lost in thought, a distant expression on his face. Coran, being the strange person he was, shrugged and followed the others down the hall, imitating Lance's gait.

"Shiro?" Pidge poked him in the bicep, and he shook his head, snapping out of it. "Hm?"

"Shouldn't we... y 'know." She nodded in the direction of the exit, and Shiro blinked.

"Ah, yeah. We should probably find them before Keith punches Lance in the face," he joked lightly, though Pidge could still hear the tightness in his voice.

She dismissed it, knowing that if Shiro didn't want to talk, there was no way to force him. The two of them made their way out, following the crazed laughter of their teammates as it echoed through the castle.

* * *

** True story- This was based off a conversation my brother and I had after watching a few episodes of Voltron. I think we were just loopy because it was late, but at the time, it had been hilarious. So, I added it in here! Hope you enjoyed it; please leave a review! I'd greatly appreciate it!**


	3. The New, Improved Bonding Moment

**WARNING: Mentions of blood/injury ahead! If you're squeamish or triggered by it or anything, I suggest you skip this chapter. It's not too descriptive, but I'm paranoid, so...**

* * *

_"Quiznak!"_

Keith cursed under his breath as purple blaster shots fired all around him, clutching his bayard close to his chest as he pressed against the cool metal of the wall. His violet eyes flickered to his left to check on Lance, who was slumped against the wall, barely conscious with blood trickling down the side of his head. This situation couldn't possibly get any worse.

The mission had started out just fine, except for Lance humming 'Hakuna Matata' into the comms relentlessly as they'd descended towards the Galra fleet in the Green Lion. He'd completely ignored Keith's enraged snarling - that is, until they're breached the ship; something that Keith was eternally grateful for.

The plan had been for Lance and Keith to cover Pidge from the inside as she downloaded important intel from the main computer systems, while Shiro and Hunk waited on standby in their lions until they needed to make a getaway. Unfortunately, they hadn't been informed that this particular ship had state-of-the-art security systems. There were also scramblers that deemed their comms useless.

Pidge had slipped back out in time, but Keith and Lance had been occupied with a few sentries, and had been left to find a different way out. Eventually, the pair had run into a Galra general armed with a large, metal club, who had put up a pretty good fight.

Keith had escaped the battle unscathed, save for a scratch on his cheek, but Lance had been thrown into a metal wall, and was completely out of it. Keith was pretty sure the idiot had a concussion. Which left him with no back-up, unless someone came running to help, or Lance miraculously recovered.

So yes, it was a perfectly acceptable time to curse.

"K... Keith?" Lance slurred, eyes opening a smidge wider. "W-wha's... goin' on?"

Keith growled, activating his shield as a laser beam flew _way_ too close for comfort. "You don't remember?"

"N...noooo, not r'lly."

A sentry whipped around the corner, blaster raised, and Keith lunged, his bayard transforming into a sword as he cut through the metal exoskeleton like it was butter. "Fantastic."

The sentry fell with a thud, and Lance's eyes widened in realization. "Ohhh, right, th' mission." His face scrunched up, and he doubled over. "Ev'rything hurts..." he mumbled weakly.

Keith's luck just kept getting better and better. Lance had probably gained at least a few bruised ribs from that hit, if not fractured or broken. He needed a cryo-pod, but Keith had no idea how they were going to get out of this alive. Unless...

"Lance." Keith shifted to face the incapacitated teen. "Will you be able to shoot these guys down if I cause a distraction?" He hefted his sword, ignoring the tiny voice in his head that informed him this was a terrible idea.

Lance blinked slowly, then nodded, his face twisting in regret at the movement. His bayard transformed into his basic gun, and his expression was grim as he shifted to move into a better shooting position. Keith nodded in return, gripping the sword tighter as his muscles tensed.

Once Lance gave him a thumbs-up, Keith launched himself into the open, slicing down a few sentries as shots fired all around him, adrenaline thrumming through his veins. When the smoke cleared, Keith found himself standing in a circle of destroyed Galra robots, bayard hanging at his right side. He glanced over to check on Lance, and _quiznak, was he trying to stand?!_

In a few long strides, Keith had Lance's left arm slung over his shoulder. The Cuban was way too pale for comfort, and at least half of his head was matted with blood.

"C'mon, let's get out of here," Keith muttered, surprised at how soft and concerned his own voice was. He guessed that the idiot was growing on him. Even though Lance denied all recollection of their - as Keith dubbed it - bonding moment, it had still happened.

Lance made a soft noise of acknowledgement, and the two made their way down the halls, thankfully without any more enemy encounters. It was a rather small ship, and Keith suspected most of the crew had either been taken out by them, or were battling the lions outside on smaller fighter-ships.

_"G- guys- h- y- there?-"_

Keith's hand flew up to his helmet as the comms crackled with static, Pidge's voice barely audible. "What?"

_"K-th! H-g on- AUGH- st-d -alra sc-mbl-"_

"What?!" Keith yelled, thoroughly confused. He grit his teeth as Lance slumped lower on his shoulder, his chin almost touching his chest.

"Stay with me, Lance!" he snapped, almost desperate. Lance jerked up, eyelids fluttering with the effort to stay conscious.

"Pidge! I can't hear you!" Keith said, nudging Lance forward a couple more steps.

_"J-st -ec ...There!"_ Her voice suddenly cleared up, the static fading away. _"Keith, Lance, do you copy?!"_

Keith allowed himself a heavy sigh of relief. "Yes, we're here, but Lance isn't doing so good. We need a way out."

_"Hang on; lemme pull up a map of the ship you're on..." _There was some shuffling and clicking on the other side, and then Pidge let out a triumphant whoop. _"Okay, the escape pods are close to your location. Take the next left, then a right. I'll be waiting to pick you up in my lion."_

"Thanks, Pidge," Keith muttered, already half-sprinting down the hallway, Lance dragging behind.

_"How's Lance?!" _Hunk's frantic voice shouted in Keith's ear. _"Is he hurt?! Is he okay?!"_

"Gee, I'm fine, thanks for asking," Keith said sarcastically, ignoring the tiny pang of hurt that Hunk was more worried about Lance. It was perfectly logical- Hunk and Lance were pretty close, and besides, Lance had the habit of getting the most injuries on missions.

_"Oh, sorry Keith," _ Hunk apologized sheepishly. _"I just overheard that Lance wasn't doing so good, and I got worried."_

Keith sighed, swerving left. He could never stay annoyed at Hunk for too long; he was just too freaking nice. Not that he was going to admit that out loud.

"Well, he got thrown into a wall, and I'm pretty sure he's got a concussion, as well as bruised ribs; maybe even fractured. He's going to need a cryopod; I don't- _Lance!_"

Keith cut off as Lance suddenly stopped, knees buckling as he collapsed onto the ground in a harsh coughing fit. Keith dropped next to him, hands shaking. He'd never been alone with anyone injured this badly- he had no idea what to do.

_"Keith! What's happening? Keith!?"_

The Red Paladin could barely hear his teammates- all he could do was sit and grip Lance's arm tight as he hacked up a thick, red substance. _Blood._ Lance was _internally bleeding._

That was bad, right?

Yes. Yes, it was _extremely _bad.

Lance sagged sideways into him, blinking slowly. "Keith, it hurts..." he muttered in a small voice, though Keith was relieved that he wasn't slurring his words anymore. He must've been fighting against the effects of the concussion.

"I know, I know, just a little longer," Keith urged, his despair returning. They needed to escape before more sentries found them. Keith didn't know how much longer Lance could hold out.

He slung Lance's arm around his shoulder again, and made to stand. "C'mon, Pidge is waiting for us."

"No."

"Lance, we don't have _time for this,_ now let's go!" Keith hissed impatiently, taking a step forward. They were _so close..._

"Y-you go ahead. .. You don't need me an-anyways."

A heavy feeling formed in Keith's stomach. "You don't mean that; it's just the concussion. Now _let's go." _He tugged at Lance's arm, forcing him to move a few steps.

"B-but... I'm j-just dragging you b'hind... 'm replaceable."

Keith's patience snapped. He yanked on Lance harshly. "I don't _care _what _you _think, you idiot! Just **_move!"_**

The Cuban yelped in pain as Keith practically dragged him all the way to the escape pod room, fuming as he rambled on and on.

"You quiznak-ing _idiot, _thinking I'm just gonna leave you here like you're disposable. Well, _guess what._ If I did, Hunk would crush me into a pulp, and Pidge would beat me with her bayard, and Coran would eject me into the cold vacuum of space. So, how about _no._"

He finished his tirade by shoving Lance (gently, of course- Keith may have been mad, but he wasn't a savage) into one of the escape pods, climbing into the driver's seat. "We're both getting out of here, and that's _final."_

Lance was dead-silent as Keith tuned back into the comms, hands flying across the dashboard as he tried to figure out how to power it on.

_"Keith, are you there?! What's happening?" _It was Shiro. Keith had rarely ever heard him this frantic before. He probably shouldn't have stopped talking to them. Oops.

"Sorry Shiro, I'm here!" he answered, and there was a huge sigh of relief. _"Keith, thank goodness! What happened?"_

"We're in an escape pod now; sorry for not answering sooner. Lance is just more out of it than I thought."

_"What? Why?"_

Keith allowed himself a small sound of triumph as the pod powered on. "Well, he was babbling about how I should just leave him on the ship. I don't blame him for being so disoriented; that Galra general really did a number on us."

There was a heavy silence. Keith didn't think much on it - he was too focused on figuring out how to maneuver the small ship.

Then, Shiro's voice. _"Keith, what exactly did he s-"_

_"HOW IS HE?!"_

Keith jolted in surprise, hand slamming down hard on the dashboard as Hunk yelled in his ear - again.

"Stop yelling!" he snarled in annoyance, slightly grateful that Lance's comms were out-of-commission. The Blue Paladin probably already had to deal with a killer headache; Hunk's hollering would've made it ten-times worse.

_"Sorry, sorry. I'm just really worried. Like, insanely worried. Like, I-need-to-know-how-my-best-friend-is-doing-or-else-I-may-explode worried."_

Despite the situation, Keith chuckled. He sobered instantly as hacking sounded from the passenger seats behind him. He didn't dare glance back - he'd reached his limit of seeing blood for the day, thank you very much.

"He really needs a cryopod," Keith muttered. "Like, really badly. It's worse than I originally thought - he's coughing up blood, and it doesn't sound pretty. Or painless," he added, wincing as Lance let out a high-pitched whimper.

There was a resigned sigh from Shiro, overlapping Hunk's shout of, _"Darn you, Lance, always getting in trouble!"_

"Yes!" Keith suddenly shouted, gripping the control sticks tightly as the escape pod was launched out into open space - and also into a huge galactic battlefield. "Uh-oh."

_"I see you!" _Pidge yelled, and Keith watched as the Green Lion sliced up a Galra fighter with her jaw-blade, then turned in his direction. _"Coming to pick you up!"_

_ "Hunk, fly back to the Castle," _Shiro ordered. _"Pidge, as soon as you've got them, follow Hunk. I'll take the rear to make sure none of them follow us."_

_ "Roger that,"_ Pidge said, almost jokingly. Keith had no doubt that she'd saluted. Lance probably would've done the same if he wasn't severely injured at the moment.

He almost slumped over in relief as the Green Lion's jaws closed around their small pod. The nightmare was almost over. "Hang in there, Lance," he mumbled.

His only reply was the faint, warbling tune of 'Hakuna Matata.'


	4. Operation: Cheer Lance Up

**Slight mention of blood ahead - I don't think it's really worth mentioning, but you can never be too careful! Also, thank you, Guest and thisbentpaperclip, for the reviews!**

* * *

Keith sighed despondantly, fidgeting with his knife as he lounged on one of the medical bay cots. For what felt like the millionth time that day, his eyes landed on the active cryopod, Lance laying inside. It felt... unnatural, seeing the Blue Paladin so immobile and silent. Keith should've been used to it by now - Lance was the one who spent the most time in the pods - but it was still unnerving, having the jokester of the team so close, and yet so far away.

Keith groaned, rubbing at his temples. _Why _was he still sticking around here and thinking about this? Lance wasn't due to come out in a few vargas. He should probably be training instead of staring at his quote-on-quote, "rival."

He couldn't help his snort of amusement as he made his way out of the room, leaving the uneasy scene behind. Lance had been so adamant on the rivalry thing when they'd first met, even though Keith had no memory of said rivalry. Heck, he barely remembered ever seeing Lance at the Garrison.

Then again, Keith hadn't allowed anyone near him, let alone bothered learning anyone's names. Anytime Lance started reminiscing about the school with either Hunk or Pidge, Keith was left feeling extremely out of the loop. He kind of regretted it, now that he realized that having more than one close friend was rather nice. Not that he was about to admit that out loud. He still had a reputation to keep.

Keith was startled out of his thoughts as the door to the training room slid open, and a gladiator robot crashed down right in front of him. _"Gyah!"_

Within seconds, Keith's dagger was buried into the robot's back. He blinked, his senses slowly returning as his gaze lifted to meet the startled face of Shiro.

"End training sequence," the Black Paladin called, and the robot vanished into light-blue particles, the knife clattering to the ground.

"Keith?" he asked, sounding surprised. "What are you doing here? I thought you were keeping an eye on Lance?"

Keith bent down to retrieve his weapon, shrugging. "I got bored, so I decided to make myself useful and get some training done," he said passively.

"Ah." Shiro nodded. "You want to go solo, or can I practice with you? I'm fine with leaving if you want me to," he added quickly.

Keith shook his head, walking to the center of the room. "Nah, I'd rather you stay. The more the merrier, right?" Here, his expression darkened slightly. "Besides, I think we need to focus more on teamwork."

Keith hadn't meant for the words to have a sharp edge to them, but Shiro noticed anyways. His face softened. "...It wasn't your fault, Keith."

Keith huffed at that, twisting his body away from Shiro. "Yeah, right. If I'd just been faster..." he trailed off, mind swirling with countless possibilities:

Lance coming back completely unscathed.

Lance coming back with only a few bruises.

Lance... not coming back at all.

"Keith..."

_"No!" _he snapped, turning on his heels to face Shiro. "If I'd only been paying attention, I could've prevented this!" The horrible scene replayed in his head for the hundredth time.

_Keith growled, brandishing his sword as the Galra scum turned to face him, yellow eyes glinting maliciously. His mouth curved into an ugly smile, sharp fangs gleaming as he cackled._

_Keith hadn't even seen the huge metal club speeding straight for him._

_ "Keith!" Someone yelled, and a tick later, Keith was shoved to the ground and a sickening crack echoed through the room as the club hit something solid. A shrill scream ripped through the air as the body crashed against the wall behind Keith. Keith could barely hold back his own scream of horror as he whirled around to see Lance slumped on the floor, eyes shut and blood dripping down the side of his head._

Keith was ripped out of the memory by a comforting hand on his shoulder. He started, finding himself staring up at Shiro's understanding face.

"He saved you, didn't he." It wasn't a question.

Keith forced himself to nod, swallowing back his nausea from the flashback.

Shiro sighed, resigned. "Well, as grateful as I am that he saved my little brother, this self-sacrificing stuff is really starting to worry me."

The Red Paladin blinked. What? He shoved away the part of him that cried happy tears over being called Shiro's brother, and instead focused on the self-sacrificing part.

...Now that he thought about it, the only reason that Lance always got injured was because he saved the others from getting those injuries. Dang. Lance was actually pretty heroic.

Keith, right then and there, concluded to never, _ever_ let Lance know he thought that. His ego didn't need any more puffing up; it was already as big as a Balmera. Probably bigger.

"...You have a point," Keith admitted. "He's saved me way more times than I've saved him..."

_ "Lance!" Keith gasped, fighting the urge to run to the Blue Paladin's side. Lance was completely out of it, and Keith could clearly see the dark smudge of red on the wall above the Blue Paladin's prone form. His fear was suddenly replaced with a rush of pure rage, and he turned to face the Galra, sword already outstretched. "You... You MONSTER!" he screamed, seeing red._

_ The Galra had the audacity to laugh. "Pathe-" _

_He was cut off as the flat of a red sword swung at him, smashing him in the face with so much force he crumpled to the ground, unconscious._

"Keith? You ok?"

Keith gasped, suddenly aware of the forming tears in the corners of his eyes. Why was he crying? He shouldn't be crying - not in front of Shiro, and definitely not about that stupid idiot. What was wrong with him?

He felt strong arms wrap around him, and couldn't hold it back any longer. With a sob, Keith turned and buried his face into Shiro's chest, shoulders shaking.

"T-that quiznacking _idiot_ \- who d-does he think he _is_ \- s-saving me like that -"

Shiro said nothing. He let Keith ramble through choked sobs and whimpers, rubbing his back gently until the younger boy was quiet and still.

"Sh-Shiro," he finally muttered, voice muffled, "h-he told me to leave him behind."

He both felt and heard Shiro's sharp intake of breath as the older man took a step back, away from Keith. "Shiro?"

"This... This doesn't make sense..." Shiro muttered, mostly to himself. Keith, not one to appreciate being ignored, cleared his throat in irritation, wiping at his puffy eyes.

"Mind filling me in?" he asked, crossing his arms.

Shiro frowned, rubbing his prosthetic arm unconsciously. "He's always so happy and energetic. I don't understand _why _he says things like that - at the most random times, too."

"Wait, what? He's said stuff like this before?" Keith did a double-take. Before that mission had gone horribly wrong, the only things he'd ever expected to hear from Lance were flirty comments and bad jokes, though Lance did have a softer side that Keith rarely saw. But the self-deprecating words were definitely new and unexpected.

"Yeah... A few weeks or so ago, I found him in Kaltenecker's room at about two in the morning," Shiro explained. "I've never seen him so... vulnerable before. It was weird. We ended up falling asleep in there for a few hours, but when I woke up, he was gone. He acted like nothing had ever happened when I saw him at breakfast, so I never brought it up."

Shiro paused, frown deepening. "But after that, I've begun to notice the signs that he isn't as okay as he makes everyone think. Whenever Allura yells at him to focus and try harder during training, I can see the flash of acceptance in his eyes, like he actually believes that he isn't doing enough. Every time Pidge snaps at him and calls him annoying when he tries to get her to sleep, he never argues back. I just..."

The Black Paladin runs a hand through his hair, exhaling tiredly. "Something's wrong, Keith. And I don't know how to fix it."

Keith stays quiet as he lets this information sink in. Shiro... Shiro was right. And - oh quiznak - he was probably only making it worse, with how much he and Lance argued. He knew he'd said some hurtful things in the past, but he'd figured that Lance hadn't taken it to heart. He'd never even apologized - Lance always beat him to it.

Now, Keith wasn't much of a hugger, but he could tell that Shiro needed one just by looking at his distraught expression. So, he wrapped his arms around his friend's - no, _brother's -_ torso. Besides, he would be lying if said that he didn't want a hug either.

Shiro stiffened in surprise at the embrace, but quickly reciprocated the sentiment, letting his chin rest on the top of Keith's head.

"If it means anything," Keith mumbled, "I want to fix it too. Heck, if we told the team, I'm sure they'd want to fix it too. We've just got to make a plan."

He knew Shiro was smiling, even if he couldn't see it. "Yeah," came the soft reply. Then,

"Hey, wait a tick!" Shiro pulled away, a determined glimmer in his eyes. "What if we _did _tell the team? We could all work together!"

Shiro laughed giddily, like a kid in a candy store, and Keith couldn't stop his own silly grin. It was nice to see Shiro acting so... happy. It was a huge improvement from the serious demeanor he'd had during the past weeks or so.

"All we have to do is call everyone in for a team meeting, except Lance has to be distracted so he doesn't know anything's up," the adult mused, rubbing his chin. "And we can't do it before Lance is out of the cryopod, because he's coming out really soon, and I'm sure he'll want everyone there to make sure he's okay."

Keith sighed, placing a comforting hand on Shiro's shoulder. "Don't worry, we'll think of something. Operation: Cheer Lance Up is a go!"

Shiro snorted. "That's the best you could come up with? Seriously?"

"Don't judge me. It's really late, and I haven't slept at all."

Shiro's face instantly morphed into something more parent-like. Now Keith understood why Lance had come up with the nickname, "Space Dad."

"C'mon, let's go to bed. We can work on the name later - I don't want you acting like a zombie tomorrow."

Keith grinned. "Yeah, you're right. I don't want Lance calling me, 'the Walking Dead' the entire day, like he does with Pidge."

They both laughed, but the atmosphere had grown heavier at the mention of Lance. Keith noticed Shiro's distant expression, and he sighed. "Shiro, we're gonna fix him. It might take a while, but we'll get there."

Shiro flashed him a grateful smile, but said nothing, eyes still staring off into space - pun not intended.

They walked out of the room, side-by-side, the idea of training long forgotten.

* * *

**This is now gonna be an entire story! Still no update schedule - sorry, but life happens. Also, I'm totally winging this, so it might get darker. Again, I hope you enjoy, and please leave a review below! :3**


	5. Of Cookies and Smiles

Hunk hummed a little made-up tune as he slid the tray of make-shift sugar cookies into one of the Castle's kitchen ovens. This would be his third attempt at making the baked goods that day, and he really hoped that they would come out decent enough for a special dessert.

The Yellow Paladin set his specially-knitted oven mitts aside - courtesy of Lance. He'd been rather upset at the lack of hand protection for baking during their first weeks in the Castle, so Lance had located some knitting supplies - apparently knitting was a universe-wide hobby - and gifted the oven mitts to Hunk when they'd been finished. Hunk had been estatic at the present, and had promised to bake Lance some Earth-worthy cookies as soon as possible.

Speaking of Lance...

Hunk glanced over to where his best friend was perched on the edge of the kitchen counter, legs swinging idly. He let a frown overtake his features as he took note of Lance's slouched posture and unusual silence.

Lance had fallen out of the cryopod about two varga ago, but when they'd all crowded him and asked if he was fine, he'd waved them off, cracking a couple of bad jokes to get them off their back. The one thing that confused Hunk, however, was the giant hug Keith had given Lance.

It had come out of nowhere, and Lance had looked as astonished as the rest of them, if not utterly lost. Curiously, Shiro hadn't seemed to think this was odd; in fact, he had joined the hug.

Once they'd pulled away, an awkward silence had ensued until Hunk asked if Lance wanted to join him in the kitchen to taste-test some new recipes. Lance had immediately jumped back to his usual, goofy self, but something still felt... off.

"Lance?" he finally asked, pushing away his nerves. Something was wrong, and he needed to find out what it was, for Lance's sake.

Lance startled, staring over at Hunk with wide blue eyes before he relaxed. "Oh. What's up, Hunk?"

Hunk took a deep breath, and let a passive expression settle on his face as he began to clean up the alien ingredients, though he couldn't help the concerned tone in his voice as he spoke. "Are you sure you're alright? You've been really quiet."

He could sense Lance's confusion, but focused more on the way the Blue Paladin stiffened slightly before sitting up, head tilting back with a reassuring grin. "Yeah, man, I'm right as rain! The cryopod fixed me right up!"

Hunk's eyes narrowed slightly, but he couldn't pick out anything wrong. It baffled him, but he decided to drop it, simply thinking he'd been imagining things.

He shrugged, moving to open one of the many cabinets to put the green salt from Arus away. Even in space, salt was still a commonly-used seasoning, no matter the color. "Sorry, I just thought it was weird that you're being so quiet," Hunk explained. "You're usually talking my ear off whenever we hang out."

Lance was quiet for a tick. "Sorry."

Hunk snorted. "No need to apologize; I was just worried that you were still out of it from that concussion."

Another silence fell, but this time, it felt more comfortable, even without Lance's constant chatter. Hunk had just finished cleaning up the counter when the sweet smell of something close to strawberries and kiwi filled the room. He inhaled deeply in bewilderment.

His first two tries hadn't gone relatively well, as he'd been too distracted with worrying about Lance. The first batch had burned into inedible black disks, while the other had simply tasted like a mix between curdled milk and sweaty gym socks. Not a good combination.

Now, however, Hunk wondered if he'd created some type of strawberry cookie, versus the sugar cookies he'd been aiming for. Either way, they both sounded delicious, and Hunk couldn't wait to see if they'd turned out okay.

He abandoned his conversation with Lance in favor of sliding the handmade mitts back on and carefully extracting the tray of cookies from the overwhelming heat of the Altean oven. Hunk had learned the hard way that these ovens cooked much, _much_ faster than the regular ones back on Earth.

Lance scooted closer in his peripheral vision to examine the sweets. Hunk had a good look over them himself, and he had to admit that they turned out beautifully. They were pale-blue in color, with light, golden streaks and perfectly round. Kind of strange, with the smell and all, but they all were pretty used to alien food by now.

Humming the tune again, Hunk scooped the cookies onto the Altean equivalent of a cooling rack, smiling wide. He had a feeling this batch would turn out all right.

Lance, judging by the smile on his face, agreed. "Hunk, _hermano, _those look beautiful! You've really outdone yourself! Please tell me I get to try one first!" The Cuban slid off the counter eagerly, coming over to stand by Hunk.

Hunk chuckled, happy to hear Lance speak his first language for the first time in what felt like weeks, even if it was just one word. "Well, you _are _ my designated taste-tester. What kind of a friend would I be if I let anyone but you try _any _ of my newest dishes?"

Lance paused, studying the confections closer. "...Hey," he started slowly, "yellow and blue."

He grinned up at Hunk, the sheer glee in it nearly blinding his friend. "Doesn't that make me and you?"

Hunk laughed, feeling free and light at the sight of his best friend's shining face. "I guess it does! Patented friendship cookies!"

He prodded at one of the cookies, then handed it to Lance. "Here. Tell me what you think. Third times the charm!"

Hunk wrung his hands together nervously as Lance's teeth sunk into the treat. He was brimming with anxiety, and Lance's poker face as he chewed in contemplation was not helping in the slightest.

"...Is it good?!" he finally blurted as Lance stuffed the rest into his mouth.

The smile he received was reply enough. "Are you kidding? These are amazing! They taste kinda like a mix of gingerbread and vanilla!" Lance reached for another, but Hunk slapped his hand away.

"Uh-uh. As happy as I am that that you liked them, I want some to be left for the others, so hands off, " Hunk scolded. Lance pouted and crossed his arms, but backed off despite his obvious reluctance.

"Fine, fine," he grumbled sullenly, though Hunk could see in his eyes that he was only joking around.

They stood in comfortable silence for a few minutes, Hunk transferring the successful cookies to a white container and writing down the exact recipe so he wouldn't forget it.

Finally, a soft voice spoke up, sounding so out of place from the earlier teasing that Hunk immediately dropped his pen to stare at Lance, giving his undivided attention.

"..._Gracias."_

Hunk frowned in confusion. "What for? Letting you be my taste-taster? 'Cause dude, you're my best friend. And best friends always get to taste-test my masterpieces first."

Lance laughed, though it didn't hold any mirth. "No, just for... letting me hang out with you, I guess. You haven't been around a lot lately, between missions and training and doing science-y stuff with Pidge... "

He trailed off, looking almost sheepish, and Hunk inhaled in sudden understanding. He'd known for a while that Lance was the most homesick out of all of them, coming from a big family and all. What kind of a best friend was he, brushing Lance off when all he wanted was to spend time with them?

A horrible one, that's what.

Eyes stinging, Hunk reached over and wrapped Lance in a huge hug. "_Lo siento, hermano,"_ he muttered, hoping it got the message across. Lance responded almost immediately, slumping into the embrace. Hunk was alarmed to discover that his shoulders were trembling. How long had Lance been holding this in?

The hug continued until Lance got himself under control, and pulled away slowly, flashing Hunk a smile that didn't fully reach his eyes. "Sorry man. Those cookies just kinda... reminded me of Earth."

Hunk waved it off, hoping to wipe that sad look off the Blue Paladin's face. It was weird, seeing that usually cheery face so... forlorn. "Nah, I get it. It's okay."

He lowered his tone to something more soothing. "But if you need to talk, I'm always around. Even if I'm doing something."

This time, the smile he received was genuine. "_Gracias,_ Hunk. I'll keep that in mind."

Before Hunk could say anything more, the door to the kitchen opened, and Princess Allura's head poked inside. "Sorry if I'm interrupting..." she said, gaze flickering between the two boys, "but may I borrow Lance for a tick? It is important."

Hunk was rather annoyed that the Altean princess had ruined their bonding time, but Lance shrugged and sent him an apologetic look. "No, it's fine, Princess. But before we go, you should really try Hunk's newest batch of cookies! They're to die for!" Hunk flushed at the praise, staring down at his feet bashfully.

Allura smiled slightly. "Later, perhaps; though I do not doubt Hunk's cooking skills." She turned to leave, gesturing for Lance to follow. "Come along, Lance."

Lance held out a fist, to which Hunk eagerly bumped. "See you later, Hunk. Gotta go find out what Allura wants."

Hunk sighed in disappointment, but nodded. "Ok... But seriously, this was fun. I really need to make an effort to hang out with you more."

Lance laughed, winking cheekily. "Want more of this, huh? I'm not surprised."

Hunk rolled his eyes, though it was mostly out of relief that Lance was acting like himself again. "Just _go,_" he said playfully, shoving Lance's shoulder.

Lance obliged, chuckling all the way out the door. Hunk felt his heart swell at the noise, but shrivel just as quickly when he realized that it was rare to hear Lance genuinely happy these days.

...Maybe Lance was worse than he thought.

...He needed to fix this.

* * *

**...Well, that was fluffier than I expected. Apparently I am incapable of writing anything angsty with Hunk & Lance. Their friendship is awesome - I love it so much! Kinda wish we got to see it more in the show, but oh well.**

**Again, leave a review below if you liked it, and thank you to all the people who have followed and favorited this fic! It really means a lot to me that you guys are enjoying this! :3**


	6. Allura the 'Princess'

Allura fidgeted with the hem of her sleeve nervously, examining Lance closely out of the corner of her eye. He trudged a few feet behind her, eyes low and hands stuffed in his pockets. It baffled her, how distant he seemed when just a few ticks ago he had been laughing with Hunk.

It was also concerning that he hadn't flirted with her yet, or blurted out another one of his strange 'pick-up lines.'

This empty shell of a human wasn't their Lance. The real Lance would've never let the team slowly begin to fall apart at the seams.

Keith was more snappy than usual, Shiro just frowned in worry every time he saw any trace of Lance, and even Coran was acting different, which was unusual. The older Altean spent countless more varga cleaning around the castle than he normally did, and Allura often stumbled upon him on the bridge, skimming through the Castle's virtual map of the galaxy while muttering something about, _"Water falling from the sky."_

Therefore, Allura's main reason for requesting Lance was to simply ask him what was wrong, and explain how much his withdrawal was affecting the team. She was confident that the two of them could work out a simple solution to the problem. After all, the Blue Lion was the heart of Voltron. She would do anything for her team, no matter the cost - much like Lance himself.

Even though she never really gave him much thought - with his immature attitude and horrible jokes and all - Allura couldn't help but admit that he was growing on her. Sure, the flirting was tiresome, but she was not blind to just how much his goofy presence was needed to lighten the mood and keep them all optimistic. It was one of the many things Lance shared in common with the last Blue Paladin, Blaytz. They were both quite the jokers.

Allura led Lance onto the bridge, then stopped to face him in the center of the room. He almost didn't notice, and skidded to a halt a mere few feet away before scrambling back to give her some space. Again, rather odd. Normally, Lance would've leaned in closer with that signature smirk of his and dropped a flattering comment about how beautiful her eyes were. Which was nice, don't get her wrong, but sometimes Allura was pretty sure that Lance didn't know how to stop while he was ahead.

She cleared her throat, banishing the thoughts away to focus on the task at hand. "Sorry about the interruption between you and Hunk. I merely wish to ask you a few questions."

Lance gave her a small, hesitant nod, and she plowed on, happy that he was acting so compliant, even if he was moving slower than usual. "I have observed that you've grown quite distant, and it's began to affect the team significantly. I was not sure if you were aware of these events, and have decided to bring them to light," she explained carefully.

She leaned a bit closer, clasping her hands together excitedly. "I would just like to know why you have been pulling away. The sooner we discuss the problem, the sooner we can fix it and be back on our feet in no time!"

Apparently, that was the wrong thing to say, judging by the way Lance's expression twisted into something unreadable before settling on blank. "So... the only reason you're asking about my well-being is just so we can 'fix it' and go back to normal?" he questioned slowly.

Allura blinked in confusion. His words sounded normal enough, but there was an underlying tone that she couldn't place. Human emotions were quite hard to grasp. He certainly didn't sound as cooperative as she'd hoped he would be.

Nevertheless, she shrugged it off. "...Well, essentially, yes. I was hoping that we could come to an understanding. You humans are still rather puzzling to me, and I would like to hear your side of the story."

Lance shook his head. "Um, sorry princess, but I don't really see an issue here? Isn't my distance and silence a good thing?"

Allura wondered whether that was supposed to be a joke, before deciding it was a rather pathetic one. "Of course not! The Paladins of Voltron are supposed to have a close bond with one another, but your withdrawal may cause - _is _causing Voltron to delay in its progress. The previous Paladins were already unlocking powers you don't even know about only a few days into their training - or, at least, that's what Coran has told me. Your silence is only hindering Voltron."

Lance's face twisted again, quickly switching to slight anger and annoyance. "Well, I'm sorry for staying quiet and following every single _quiznaking_ order without complaint like a _perfect _soldier would!" he defended, spitting out the word "perfect" like it was a disease.

"Don't make this about you - this is about _Voltron_," Allura emphasized, her own temper flaring up. "So stop acting like a spoiled child for once and _listen!" _

"Oh, _I'm _the one acting immature here?!" Lance's tone bitterly dropped, and his eyes flashed dangerously. "Me?! _None of you even notice me anymore, and I've tried **everything! **__How do you hope to fix a problem if you don't even realize what the real problem is?!"_

_ "You're the one not listening here!" _she rebutted, the edges of her vision slowly coloring red.

"Says the girl who's currently _not_ accepting to listen to what the _real_ problem is!"

"Don't you _dare _call me a girl _ever again_," Allura snarled ferociously, chest heaving. She leveled a vicious glare in Lance's direction, which he returned defiantly. "You are to _only_ address me as 'Princess Allura' from now on. _Understood?"_

"...Whatever."

The human boy had the _audacity _to roll his eyes and look away passively, as if he couldn't care less.

The one thing keeping Allura sane snapped. Her entire body went still as she straightened to her full height.

"Maybe we should just find a new, _better _Paladin," she stated coldly, maliciously, face devoid of any emotion. "At this point, _anyone _would do. As long as they aren't _you."_

Dead silence swallowed the bridge.

When Allura finally decided to glance back over at Lance from her death glare at the wall, she was alarmed to discover silent tears running down his cheeks as he stared at the floor, body trembling.

"...Maybe you should."

The three words were a mere whisper, and yet they lingered heavily in the empty air.

Allura swallowed thickly, all former rage dissipating instantly. Surely he didn't mean that... right?

"Lance, - I-"

He held up a surprisingly steady hand, despite his obvious emotional trauma, and she shut her mouth with a soft click.

"Allura, just... _don't."_

He was halfway out the door when she called out again, right arm outstretched in a desperate attempt to stop him. "Lance, _wait!"_

He didn't even spare her a backwards glance as he all but sprinted out of the room, head bowed low.

One of Allura's hands came to settle over her mouth as she choked back a horrified sob, sinking to her knees.

Oh, Oriande...

_What had she done?_

* * *

**Well, that escalated quickly.**

**Just to clarify, Allura isn't intentionally being mean here - she isn't the bad guy in this story. It's just the stress build-up from the constant fighting and no breaks.**

**I feel like Lance and Allura don't actually start growing close until the lion switch, when she comforts him. Before that, she's rather cool and detached - and not just to Lance. Her and Coran never really get the chance to properly mourn their civilization, so I imagine that they both distanced themselves from the Paladins in an attempt to avoid more heartbreak. And you can't really blame Lance for lashing out either - in the end, they're all still young and fighting a war. (Except for Coran, but he sometimes acts like he's a kid, so... XD)**

**Sorry for the short chapter, and I especially apologize if I don't update for the next few weeks. I've got a vacation coming up, and school-work is crazy, so I might not be able to slip in time to write.**

**But anyways, if you enjoyed, please leave me a review below! I really appreciate it! :3**


	7. The Absolutely Filthy Hallway

**Sorry for the short length - I literally wrote half of this in a hotel lobby, because I didn't have anything better to do. *Le shrug***

**Answer to Shiranai Atsune: ...Yeah, I feel like Allura's personality is all over the place in the show. I'm going to try and make up for her rude behavior from season one in this story, with the excuses that she never really had the time to properly mourn for her people, and she doesn't understand human emotions. Kinda makes you pity her, in a way. **

* * *

Coran clicked his tongue in disapproval at the nefarious scene before him, brandishing his duster. He'd been cleaning around the Castle, like usual, and had stumbled upon this _abomination _of a hallway.

It was entirely smothered in dirt and grime, and the air was thick with dust and the distinct smell of Nunville. The lights were all burned out, and Coran could tell that no one or no creature had been down there for possibly more than ten-thousand deca-phoebs.

Coran eyed his puny duster appraisingly, before tossing it over his shoulder and turning to find better cleaning equipment. This would require more than a simple Altean duster, mainly used for small jobs such as cleaning off desks or polishing windows. No, this required the entire 'shee-bag' - or, whatever that human word was. Earth slang was a strange concept that Coran could never hope to understand.

As he wandered through the Castle to locate a supply closet, Coran found his mind drifting off to the Paladins. He wondered if any of them would be willing to help clean up the atrocious hallway, and listen to a few of his fabulous stories.

Number One was under a lot of stress with important leader business, so that was a solid no. Both Number Two and Number Five were busy as well, with cooking and programming and the like. Coran had to give it to Number Two though - his cooking was to _die _ for. His desserts was better than the draliaberry pies from Graquet, and those were _legendary._

And Number Five certainly knew her stuff. She could hack into a high-quality Galra security system in only a few ticks! Her technology knowledge was proving incredibly useful, and Coran wouldn't want to interrupt her.

Coran knew for a fact that Number Four had absolutely no interest in cleaning, as he spent most of his time in the training room, and Allura despised cleaning. She was a princess, after all. It would probably be considered a serious offense if Coran even asked her anyways.

That just left Number Three.

Coran let a fond smile stretch across his face at the thought of the Blue Paladin. He'd never intended to forge a bond with any of the Paladins, to save himself from heartbreak after the tragic news that his entire race had been decimated, but Number Three was hard to avoid.

He had a special talent of always knowing what to say or do to comfort people, or lighten the mood. Even though the boy had come off as just a dramatic goofball at the start, once Coran had gotten to know him, he'd realized that deep down, Lance was a selfless young boy who gave to everyone and expected nothing in return.

The smile gave way to a small frown. Number Three had been acting rather... odd, lately. He was more distant, quieter. He still made jokes and participated in team meetings and training, but his smile was off, almost... fake. It sent a pang through Coran's heart every time he thought about it.

...Nevertheless, Coran was confident that Lance would not deny his request for help. He always said yes, no matter the circumstances. Unless, of course, he was being asked to do something drastic, like not showering for a week, or drinking alien liquids that could very possibly be poisonous to humans.

Perhaps after a few of Coran's amazing stories from his past, Lance would be smiling and laughing again, and the tight feeling in his stomach would dissipate.

One could hope, right?

Coran was startled out of his thoughts as the exact Paladin he was thinking about appeared at the end of the hallway, sprinting forward with his head hung low.

Coran raised his hand in a friendly gesture of greeting that Number Five called a "wave," smiling and hoping that he was doing it correctly.

"Why, hello there, Number T- oof!"

Coran was shoved aside by Lance's shoulder as the boy rushed past, and Coran was horrified to see tear-tracks on his tan cheeks, his eyes red and puffy.

Acting without thinking, Coran's hand shot out to grab Lance's wrist, stopping him in his tracks. Lance resisted weakly for a tick, before slumping forward and accepting his fate, still refusing to face the Altean.

Coran pursed his lips in worry, unsure of how to proceed. Sure, he'd seen Lance in vulnerable states of mind multiple times, but he'd never cried. This was a delicate situation, so Coran would just have to try his best and cheer up the distraught human. He owed Lance that much.

"...Num- _Lance," _ Coran swiftly corrected himself, figuring Lance would want to hear his actual name instead of some generic nickname. "Are you feeling alright?"

He could hear the barest of sniffles from Lance, and the quiet reply of, "Yeah, 'm fine."

That alone sent alarm bells ringing in Coran's head. Lance was never quiet. He was always loud, dramatic, cheerful. Not... whatever this was.

"Lance, it's okay to not be okay," Coran said gently, tugging Lance closer. "Come on now, look at me."

Lance shook his head in shame, and Coran sighed patiently. "Please?"

The boy finally complied, and Coran sighed again at the horrible expression on his face. His fatherly instinct took over, and he pulled Lance into a tight hug, one hand rubbing his back while the other ran through his silky, dark-brown hair. He was saddened to feel the teenager shuddering, and the growing wetness on his chest. What had possibly happened to make Lance this upset?

When Lance had quieted, and his breathing was steady again, Coran loosened his hold, but didn't fully let go, in case Lance wanted to step back and take a breath. "...What happened, my boy?"

Lance stiffened slightly, but didn't pull away, which Coran counted as a win.

"...Allura said that she would r-replace me," Lance muttered, voice thick with emotion. Coran jolted in confusion. Allura? Why on Altea would the princess say such a thing?

Coran, looking down at the human in his arms, decided to ask her about it later. Knowing her, it had probably been the result of her short temper, and was now feeling extremely guilty. He'd go comfort her eventually, but right now, Lance required his full attention.

"Lance," Coran said, lifting Lance's chin for those watery blues to meet his own eyes, "you are irreplaceable. _You_ fly the Blue Lion. She does not accept just anyone to be her Paladin. She only chooses the friendliest, the toughest, and the most talented person avaliable. Do not let Allura's words get to you - she is wrong. You make a _perfect _ Paladin, and I would hate to see you leave."

Coran took a deep breath, his own eyes filling with unshed tears as his tone softened even further. "You're like a son to me."

Lance stared up at his with unbridled shock, and it slowly morphed into a small, shaky smile. But it was a real one, and it meant the world to Coran, no matter how small.

"I..." Lance seemed to be at a loss for words, which was rare, and actually quite amusing. _"Thank you, _ Coran."

Coran smiled warmly in response. "Don't mention it, m' boy. I meant every single word."

Lance smiled wider, but Coran was discouraged to see the lingering self-doubt behind those ocean-blue eyes. His words had helped alleviate the pain for now, but Lance still didn't fully believe him. This problem ran much deeper than just Allura's hurtful words, and Coran wasn't sure how to fully fix it.

But for now, Lance seemed content enough, so Coran let it go. He'd present it to the rest of the team later, to work out a way to help this sweet, hurting boy.

Lance wiped at his eyes, backing away from Coran. "Sorry about that," he half-laughed. "Were you doing something important before I ran into you?"

Coran blinked, and he suddenly remembered what he'd been walking down the hallway for in the first place. "Actually, I was hoping to ask if you'd be willing to help me clean up this absolutely _filthy _ hallway I came across earlier. What do you say? I could tell you about the mischief Alfor and I got into when we were young," he suggested hopefully, praying with all his might that Lance would agree.

Lance's eyes sparkled with interest. "Oh, do tell." He rubbed his hands together in anticipation, following Coran down the hallway.

Coran laughed at his eager expression, and launched into one of his many glorious adventures, twisting his mustache. "Well, there was this one time where we stowed away on a ship headed for the planet Hueayer. Alfor's plan, not mine! Boy, was that a trip to remember!"

They spent the rest of the day scrubbing the hallway until it shone, exchanging stories about their homes. Coran was pleased to report that he succeeded in making Lance laugh so hard he snorted more than once.

It made the hole in his heart feel a little less empty, and a little more full.

* * *

**Ok, this didn't go in the direction I'd originally intended, but OH WELL. It's Lance and Coran, what'd you expect? Lance is Coran's favorite, and no one can convince me otherwise.**

**I don't know when my next chapter will come out - I'm currently still on vacation, and might not have time for writing for the next week or so. So hang in there!**

**Next chapter might either be the team meeting - minus Lance, of course, or Lance's thoughts on all of this. I haven't decided yet. Or it'll just be a filler chapter, to stretch out the story. **

**Also, it may seem fluffy right now, but I'm pretty sure that it'll get worse before it gets better. So be warned!**

**Please leave a review below if you enjoyed, and thank you for reading! :3**


	8. It's Dinner Time!

**Filler chapter it is! Sorry it's so short though... (Hey, alliteration!)**

**Also, I just now realized that "Home Is Where The Cows Roam" is a really stupid title for a story. Whoops.**

**(Hey, I'm pretty sure I came up with the name at like, midnight, so... I'm not surprised.)**

* * *

Pidge stabbed at her plate of mystery meat with a small frown, lost in thought.

She had spent the entire day skimming through Galra databases, searching for any signs of Matt or her father. After no luck, Shiro had finally convinced her to join the others for dinner, but now she was starting to wish she hadn't bothered.

It was unusually quiet, she suddenly realized. That was why the atmosphere felt so heavy, so weighed down it almost pushed her into the floor. She paused her completely necessary torture of the strange, luminescent meat that Hunk had proudly dubbed "Durkun Filet" to glance up, and found her eyes trailing to Lance's seat.

The Blue Paladin was absolutely silent, and was staring down at his food with an unfocused, almost sad look, eating utensils untouched. She'd never noticed before, but upon a closer look, Pidge could see the outlines of dark bags under his normally-bright blue eyes.

One not-so-sneaky glance around the table revealed that Shiro, Hunk and Keith were all staring at Lance as well. Coran was busy elsewhere, but had promised to come and eat later, and Allura was pointedly shoveling her dinner into her mouth, multi-colored eyes focused on her own plate.

She was giving off huge waves of distress and anger, so everyone had simply let her be when she'd strode in earlier. But now, Pidge could see the discomfort and guilt in her eyes, and the way Lance snuck glances at the princess before looking away just as quickly, a flash of hurt crossing his features.

Something had obviously happened between the two, but no one was brave enough to address it. Allura could be rather terrifying when she was mad, and although Pidge had never seen Lance get incredibly furious before, she didn't particularly want to, unless it was in battle.

She'd heard stories from Hunk about how vicious Lance could be when one of his friends or family were threatened, and while it was nice to know that she was one of those friends, she never wanted to be on the receiving end of that anger.

Just the mention of Lance blowing a fuse made Hunk shudder.

Pidge was pretty sure her fear was justified if Lance, the goofiest guy she knew besides Matt, was capable of terrifying entire gangs of delinquents. (It sounded unbelievable, but Hunk was no liar.)

The silence was broken as Coran suddenly burst through the door, orange mustache twitching animatedly. (Pidge had yet to figure out how exactly it did that. Must be an Altean thing.)

"Hello, paladins!" he announced loudly. Out of the corner of her eye, Pidge noticed Lance flinch slightly and rub at his temples, eyes closing.

So, he just had a headache. That relieved some of her fears, but new ones sprouted up almost instantly. How long had he had it? Why hadn't he mentioned it to anyone?

...Was it some sort of deadly space disease?

Oh-no, was that a thing? Should they be more careful about what they eat?

Pidge made a quick mental note to search it up on one of the Castle's equivalents to Earth computers. She never liked asking one of the Alteans - Coran talked way too much for her liking, and asking Allura just sounded plain awkward.

"Uh," Coran deflated slightly as he took in the lack-luster dining room. He laughed nervously. "What's going on?"

"Nothing of importance," Allura stated in a sickly-sweet tone, before anyone had the chance to answer. Though, the dark undertone to her words revealed that something had indeed happened.

Coran sighed, eyes flicking between Allura and Lance, an unreadable expression on his face.

Or, at least, it was unreadable to Pidge. She had a terrible understanding of social cues, but if even Keith, master of not understanding simple human gestures (like fistbumps - seriously Keith, who doesn't know what a fistbump is?), could tell that something was up, then she definitely could, too.

"I can't do this anymore."

Six startled heads turned to the Red Paladin, who suddenly shoved his chair back and stood, hands slamming onto the table with a loud bang as he glared viciously at Lance and Allura.

"Something happened between you two, and you need to fix it," Keith snapped, all patience long gone. Pidge, in her state of surpeise, vaguely realized he'd been holding back this entire time, in the hopes that the two might resolve the issue in their own time. It obviously hadn't been happening, and wouldn't for a while.

Pidge honestly wasn't that surprised it was Keith who spoke up about it first. He was famous for being the short-tempered, reckless Paladin, after all.

"Keith-" Shiro warned, making to stand himself, but Keith shot him a glare as well.

"Don't stop me, this needs to be said."

Shiro settled back in his seat reluctantly, but inclined his head at Keith anyways, granting him permission to continue.

Coran, on the other hand, was not having any of it.

"Number Four, please sit down. They must work this out on their own." Coran held out both hands in a placating gesture, taking a step in said human's direction.

Keith flat-out ignored him.

"You two need to sort this out. We're a team, and if we're supposed to save the universe, we need to _work _ as a team. Got it?" Keith ordered firmly , almost as if _he _ were the leader here, not Shiro. Surprisingly, Shiro did not look bothered by this at all.

In fact - and Pidge swore her glasses were not messing with her vision - he almost seemed... _pleased?_

Allura's fork was suddenly flung across the room and clattered to the floor, narrowly missing Keith's head by a few inches. He jumped, head swinging to stare at the princess in shock.

She was on her feet, right arm outstretched, chest heaving. "Do not _ever _ speak to me like that _again,"_ she snarled, before something flickered in her eyes. They widened with horror at what she'd just done, and a hand clapped over her mouth as she turned to Lance, along with everyone else.

He was still quiet, eyes focused on his plate, but now his knuckles were turning white as he gripped the edge of the table so tightly Pidge was almost convinced it would snap in two, and while his face was carefully wiped of any emotion, his eyes were shining brightly, as though he was holding back tears.

Pidge could feel something in her heart crack. Lance didn't deserve to have that look on his face. He was supposed to always smile, always laugh.

Not... _this._

"Lance, Keith, I'm..." Allura chewed her bottom lip, and now Pidge could see only guilt on her face, any traces of rage long gone. She continued to address Lance, Keith forgotten. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean what I said at all. I-"

She cut her (in Pidge's opinion, pathetic) apology speech short as Lance held up a hand, head finally lifting. "...It's okay, princess," he said softly. "I don't blame you."

He went silent for a few ticks, then gave them all a tight smile that made something in Pidge's stomach twist. "Besides, you were right."

For some reason, that sentence made Pidge feel even worse, even though she had no quiznaking clue what was going on.

There were gasps from both the Alteans, and Coran opened his mouth indignantly, but Lance didn't give him the chance to say anything. He was gone from the room in a blue blur.

Pidge was absolutely silent, mouth gaping open. What the ever-loving quiznak just happened?

Allura looked like she was on the brink of bursting into tears, Keith was mildly furious - Pidge half-expected him to throw something - (not a surprise, considering it was Keith), Hunk and Coran just looked sad, like they knew exactly what was happening, and Shiro...

Shiro was staring after Lance, face blank.

Which was why it startled everyone else in the room when he suddenly turned to face them, expression determined as he lay his palms flat on the table. It was small moments like this that reminded Pidge why he was their leader.

"Something's wrong with Lance."

* * *

**So... My vacation was awesome and all, but... I have schoolwork to go back to. Yay. I swear, one of these days I'm going to snap and set fire to my math textbook. (Honestly wish I had the guts to do that. It would be glorious.)**

**Anywho, I just realized that this has 23 followers? Like, how? It's probably not a lot and I'm overreacting here, but THANK YOU? I honestly was not expecting this story to get this far. So, thank you all so much! :3**

**Please leave a review if you enjoyed, and don't worry, the next update might be pretty soon since I'm already working on it, but no promises. -le shrug-**


	9. The Meeting

**Sorry for the wait - writer's block is _not _fun. But again, thanks for all the support! **

**And yeah, this one's kinda short, but oh well. All the chapters are pretty short, anyways.**

* * *

"I_ think something's wrong with Lance."_

As soon as the words left his lips, the table in front of Shiro exploded into chatter. He could barely pick out any distinguishable words, but the emotions behind them were very obvious.

Angry, confused, worried, scared...

It all began clashing together into a whirling mess, until Shiro couldn't hear himself think.

_"Quiet!" _he shouted, before he could develop a headache. Thankfully, the room obeyed, all slinking down back into their seats in shame.

He sighed at the younger ones timid expressions, rubbing his temples. "Sorry. I just... Can we just go around the room, instead of yelling ourselves hoarse?" he suggested.

Coran nodded enthusiastically. "Sounds like a plan, Number One! Who will go first, though?"

"Me."

_"Me!"_

Hunk and Keith both volunteered at the same time, sitting up eagerly before glaring at each other venomously.

"I said it first!" Keith snapped, crossing his arms. "So back off!"

"Yeah, well, _I'm _his best friend!" Hunk retaliated. "I know him better than anyone!"

"Oh, do you now? Well then, why didn't you see anything wrong before?"

"Be-because!" Hunk spluttered, arms flailing.

"Wow, that's a _great _ excuse."

Hunk floundered for something to say, and settled on a snarl. Shiro was half-convinced that the Yellow Paladin would launch across the table and tackle Keith. He'd _never _ seen Hunk this angry - it was scary.

Before Hunk could do anything drastic, Pidge raised a hand. "Um," she started timidly, and Shiro was struck by the realization that although she didn't act her age, Pidge was still only a middle-schooler.

"Should... Shouldn't someone go after him?" she asked with huge, round eyes. Shiro felt his heart tighten. They were all too young for this.

Hunk instantly deflated, running a hand down his face. "No, just... Let him be for now. He prefers to be alone whenever he gets like this, but we should check on him later."

Keith flared up. "Oh, like we should take _your _ advice on this, Mr. I'm-Lance's-best-friend."

Shiro grit his teeth as Hunk responded just as sacastically. "Well, I'm _sorry _ that I know him so well - unlike _someone _ here who's too chicken to actually make an effort to be friends!"

Keith's mouth open to retort with something equally as hurtful, but paused in shock when Allura started crying uncontrollably, tears running down her cheeks in rivulets. Coran was at her side in an instant, hands on her shaking shoulders.

She sobbed again, wiping at her eyes as she met Shiro's gaze shamefully. "I- I'm so sorry - I fear that this is all my fault."

Coran sighed patiently, eyes softening. "It's not your fault, princess. Lance's recent... withdrawal is affecting us all. You are just stressed, and young. It's perfectly understandable."

Allura didn't reply. She only turned and buried her face in Coran's chest, hands curling to grip the edges of his shirt as she trembled. The older Altean stroked her hair lovingly, bright eyes now dull with worry for both Allura and Lance. (It was no secret that Coran favored the two over the rest of the Paladins.)

Shiro couldn't move - how had everything gone so downhill in only a few minutes? Why hadn't he noticed Lance's distress earlier? He was supposed to be their leader, the one that the others could confide in.

So, why hadn't Lance come to him?

The only time he'd ever seen Lance vulnerable was that fateful night in Kalternecker's room, only a few weeks ago. Yet, it felt like it had only been a distant dream.

Or maybe that was what Lance had been trying to make it seem like. Shiro understood all too well how mortifying it was to pour out your feelings to someone you didn't like to show weakness to.

He was hit by another sudden relavation. The problem didn't just stem from Lance. Everyone had been repressing their emotions lately, and while Lance seemed to be taking it harder than everyone else, Shiro could still see the dark, stress-induced bags under everyone's eyes.

Without Lance's constant joking and easy smiles, the stress was beginning to get to everyone. And they hadn't noticed, so now everyone was dealing with the consequences.

Shiro sighed heavily, running his flesh hand down his face. "Okay, we need to start back at the beginning, when this problem began in the first place."

The room went quiet, and six pairs of eyes landed on him respectfully. Shiro relished in the beautiful peace for a tick before beginning.

"We're all going to go around the room and point out what we've noticed wrong with Lance, until we can piece together what's going on with him and talk it out like reasonable people instead of fighting. I'll go first. Sound good?"

The room nodded.

Another deep breath. "Alright then. The first time I realized something was wrong was a few weeks back... "

* * *

By the time his story was over, almost everyone looked devastated about how lowly Lance thought of himself. Allura had silent tears running down her face again, and Hunk looked extremely close to following her example.

Keith was just extremely ticked off. And that was an understatement.

"That idiot!" he snapped, fists clenching at his sides, violet eyes stormy. "Why hasn't he told us any of this?! I mean, he did talk down about himself during that mission, but I..."

Keith trailed off, before throwing his arms into the air. "He's so _stupid!"_

"Hey, Lance isn't stupid!" Hunk shouted, always one to defend his friend. "He's not as intelligent as me or Pidge, but he still got into the Garrison, didn't he? Besides, Lance is more people-smart than anything."

"People-smart?" Coran repeated curiously. "I am unfamiliar with that term."

Hunk nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah, it means that while he isn't the best at math or science, he's really good at reading people. He knows how to read the atmosphere, knows whether a joke is appropriate or not, and can even tell when someone's sad, even if they don't show it! It's actually really impressive."

Keith blinked, eyes widening with clarity. "I... Oh. _That's _ why he's always picking fights with me. He always teases me whenever my temper is acting up, probably so I don't do something I'll regret later. He redirects my anger onto himself."

Pidge nodded along slowly. "Yeah... Somehow, he always knows when I..." Her voice grew smaller. "When I go into these moods and miss Matt so much it hurts." A small smile spread across her face. "He always shows up with a video game and a smile, or another stupid prank idea to use on one of you."

"Hey, is _that _ why my Altean chef's hat was dyed pink two weeks ago?!" Hunk exclaimed.

Pidge had the decency to look ashamed. "Sorry."

Shiro shook his head, though a fond smile threatened to break onto his face. So _that _ was why he'd once found his shampoo bottle filled with some type of orange glitter. Those little pranksters.

Coran cleared his throat, still gently stroking Allura's hair, even though she'd finally stopped crying. "Excuse me, but who's going to share next?"

Shiro pursed his lips, eyes landing on...

"Keith, why don't you go? You mentioned something about that mission earlier this week, but never elaborated for the rest of the team."

Keith sobered up instantly, eyes flashing. "Don't remind me. But yeah, I never did get around to telling you guys the whole story, did I?"

* * *

When Keith was finished, he looked a little less mad and more relieved now that the whole story was out. Even Hunk was mollified, though he still sent a few glares in Keith's direction, probably still hurt over their argument and the fact that Keith got to share first.

No, Pidge was the one who was steaming mad now.

"He- what- _replacement_ -?" she stammered, unable to get a full sentence past her lips. Eventually, Shiro figured she gave up on speaking as she shoved her plate across the table in one harsh movement and slumped into her seat, eyes still blazing like an inferno.

Allura had seemingly ran out of tears, and was now staring at her lap in a guilty silence. Shiro could tell that she was dreading her turn, as it was obvious that she was the reason Lance had gone over the edge in the first place, but nontheless, she still had to share her side of the story.

First, however, Shiro figured that Hunk had waited long enough.

"Hunk."

Said teenager blinked and focused on Shiro. "What, is it my turn now?"

At Shiro's short nod in response, Hunk smiled. It wasn't a happy smile, though. It was sad, almost grim. "Okay. Um... where should I start?"

Shiro tilted his head. "Just... start from the beginning, I suppose," he answered passively, while on the inside, his gut twisted at how the Yellow Paladin's expression somehow grew even more melancholy.

"Okay," was all he said, before taking a deep breath.

"Lance and I first met about three years ago, back at the Garrison..."

* * *

**So... The next chapter might take a while, because I'm gonna create a lot of backstory for Lance and Hunk, so bear with me!**

**Leave a review below if you enjoyed, and thank you for reading this far into the story! :3**


	10. Two Best Friends

**Sorry about the wait, but I seriously have no excuses for why it took so long, so here. At least it's a pretty decent chapter!**

**(Also, woah! Thirty followers?! I'm considering that a milestone! Thank you all so much! :3)**

**This got away from me, so it's literally twice the size of the normal chapters. Oops. **

* * *

_"Lance and I first met about three years ago, back at the Garrison..."_

* * *

Hunk swallowed nervously, eyeing the door in front of him like it would eat him at any moment, fidgeting with the straps of his huge yellow backpack.

He'd been rather upset once he'd received the news that his old roommate of two years, Neil Jordan, had dropped out of the Garrison, and that he would have to move in with someone new. Hunk wasn't the best at social interaction, due to his anxiety, so the most he could do was pray that this new kid would be nice and not another bully.

Hunk was a relatively large fifteen-year-old, and with his Polynesian ethnicity thrown in along with his anxiety, it made him a perfect target for bullies. During his first few months at Garrison, he hadn't been bothered because he loomed over everyone else, but that quickly changed once everyone started to get to know him and realized he had a big heart and wouldn't hurt a fly.

He'd tried everything from trying to intimidate them into leaving him alone (Which hadn't been effective, considering the fact that he'd made cookies for the entire teaching staff a couple of days ago, including Iverson) to outright ignoring them (That idea had only led to them teasing him relentlessly, even when teachers were around).

He had pretty much ran out of ideas - and Neil hadn't been much help either, since he had never been bullied in his entire life. He didn't really have any other close friends he could go to, and there was absolutely no way he was going to tell his parents. If he did, it would probably lead to a chain reaction of freak events that would most likely end in his family being sued.

So, yeah. Hunk couldn't blame himself for being a little worried about this. He didn't know if he could take living in the same room with someone who scorned and looked down on him.

But it would be fine! If this new guy was a bully, he could always go ask Professer Wolfe for another roommate! No big deal.

Okay, maybe it was a huge deal, but Hunk didn't want to drop out of the Galaxy Garrison just because of some mean kids! This had been his dream job since he was seven, and he was not about to let it go.

Taking a deep breath, Hunk shook out his shoulders and pushed the door open. Better to get it over with than stand there at the door and slowly delve into a panic attack.

The first thing Hunk noticed about the room were the walls. One side was an empty white (his side, he presumed) and the other side was absolutely _covered _with multi-colored post-it notes.

The one thing that caught Hunk's eye, however, was the huge, four-foot poster of Takashi Shirogane right above the boy's incredibly messy bed.

Hunk blinked. Huh.

His musing was cut short as the door to the bathroom flung open, and a frazzled boy with tan skin and even darker hair burst into the room with a shout of, _"¡Hola!"_

They both stared at each other in a stunned silence, before the boy broke into a giggling fit. Hunk continued to stare, taken aback.

"S-sorry!" the boy apologized , still laughing. "I had been hoping to make a good first impression, but then as I was brushing my hair the door opened and I panicked. Sorry if I scared you!"

Hunk blinked again, before realizing that he should probably respond. "O-oh! No, you're fine. I'm just a... just a little nervous."

He almost face-palmed at his stupidity. Why would he even say that to a potential bully?! He was done for. Dead meat. Toast.

Instead of teasing him, however, his new roommate nodded in understanding. "Sorry, man. Hey, why don't we start over and introduce ourselves like normal people?"

Despite himself, Hunk laughed. "Sounds good to me."

The boy grinned, puffing up like a rooster and resting one hand on his chest. "I'm Lance McClain, but you can just call me Lance."

Hunk nodded timidly. Okay, moment of truth. "My name's Hunk. Hunk Garrett."

He braced himself for the mocking laughter.

It never came.

Lance's grin widened. "So, have you been an absolute hunk your entire life, or did your parents just make an educated guess?"

Hunk choked.

What.

Lance must've sensed his bewilderment, because his face softened. "Hey, you okay? It was just a joke, sorry if I hit a nerve... Besides, I was being honest."

And staring into those purely sincere ocean-blue depths, Hunk believed him.

"Sorry, I just..." he trailed off awkwardly. How could he possibly put this without insulting Lance? _'Hey, sorry about being so weird, but I had to make sure you weren't a bully first?'_

Yeah, that'd go over well.

Lance didn't push him for an answer. Instead, the boy broke into another wide smile that nearly blinded Hunk because _how was this kid so positive?_

"So!" Lance clapped his hands together, eyes drifting to Hunk's suitcases. "We should probably get you unpacked and settled, because unless there's a horrible accident and I die, you're stuck with me until we graduate!"

Hunk frowned slightly at the dark joke hidden in there, before glancing down at his bags. "Wait, you're gonna help? Don't you have... I don't know, classes to go to?"

Lance shook his head merrily, leaning forward to drag one of Hunk's suitcases towards the empty side of the room. Which was impressive, considering the fact that the boy literally looked like a living stick. "Nope. I convinced Professor Sanders to let me skip so I could help you move in. She's got a soft spot for kids, if you play your cards right."

Since Hunk had finally deemed the bubbly teenager as safe, he decided to relax. Lance was nice, maybe even nicer than Neil. He also had a playful personality, so Hunk thought that a little teasing on his own part wouldn't hurt.

"So, are you doing this to be nice, or are you just trying to skip class?" Hunk asked slyly, sliding up next to Lance.

Lance barked out a laugh, and Hunk was relieved that he'd recognized it as a joke and not a legitimate question.

"Well..." Lance started slowly, grinning. "Maybe both."

At this, Hunk sniffed as though he was hurt. "How dare you, not wanting to bond with your new roommate! Shame on you!"

They stared each other in the eyes for a few seconds, completely deadpan until Lance finally cracked.

As they both collapsed into hysterics, Hunk had the passing thought that this was the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

Which he told Lance immediately once they'd calmed down. The other boy claimed that it sounded "too cliche" and instead stated with full confidence, "This is the beginning of a relationship where we steal each other's food every second of the day, because that sounds like something good friends would do."

And he had been right.

Food-stealing aside, they really did become close friends - so close, in fact, that Hunk ended up sharing about his anxiety disorder only three months after he'd moved in with Lance.

Lance had been incredibly patient and understanding, and even looked up how to help someone during a panic attack or to calm them down, just so he could be there for Hunk.

Lance was also extremely protective. Anytime the bullies came around, Lance chased them off with quick thinking and smooth insults. He never resorted to violence, unless the situation was dire enough.

The one thing Hunk hated about this arrangement was the fact that Lance never stood up for himself. If the bullies targeted him instead of Hunk, Lance did absolutely nothing to stop or discourage them.

And it frustrated Hunk to no end.

Sure, Hunk was not as perceptive as his best friend was, but he could still see the insecurities hiding in the shadows of Lance's outgoing personality. He could see it in the way he stood up for others, but never himself. He saw it in the way Lance said he was fine on those particular days when his smile never reached his eyes.

He saw it in the way Lance seamlessly avoided every single deep, personal question thrown at him. If Hunk asked him what his greatest fear was, for example, Lance would either make a bad joke, change the subject, or answer so ridiculously it made Hunk give up.

For wearing his heart on his sleeve, Lance was surprisingly good at hiding his true feelings.

It was only about a year and a half into their living situation when Lance finally, _finally _ opened up to Hunk - even if it was by complete accident.

* * *

Hunk was roused from his sleep by soft footsteps across the floor, and the whirring of the door as it opened and closed. He sat up, heart racing with both fear and curiosity. Was someone entering or exiting?

His eyes first strayed to Lance's side of the room, where the bed was in even more disarray than usual and there was no Lance-sized lump under the covers. That was enough to send alarm bells ringing in his head, and Hunk forced himself to wake up fully.

One glance at his alarm clock only caused the alarms to ring louder. Why was Lance sneaking out of their room at two in the morning? It was a well-known fact that Lance adored his beauty sleep, and almost always went to bed straight at nine o'clock, unless he needed to study or convinced Hunk to sneak into town.

Hunk was pretty sure Lance wasn't going to town. He never went unless he got someone to accompany him, and unfortunately, that person was usually Hunk. Besides, most of the places in town were closed by now.

That meant something was up. And Hunk was going to find out what it was.

His siblings didn't call him nosy for nothing.

Shaking the last of his tiredness out of his body, Hunk slipped out of his bed and cautiously made his way out into the hall, feet muffled by the fluffy slippers Lance had made him for his birthday.

He stopped halfway down, suddenly realizing that he had no idea where to go from here. If he were Lance at two in the morning, where would he go?

His best bets were either the shooting range, the swimming pool, or the roof. Lance was extremely talented at shooting and swimming, and spent a lot of free time practicing. And Hunk knew from past conversations that Lance loved star-gazing, but rarely had the chance to do so.

He decided on checking the roof first, since tonight there was a full moon, and the sky was cloudless. Perfect star-gazing conditions. Besides, if Lance wasn't there, the other two places weren't far, and wouldn't take too long to visit from the roof.

Now that he had a solid plan, Hunk slunk forward once more. He didn't run into any patrolling soldiers, which was extremely lucky. Usually there was at least one per hallway, but Hunk guessed there was a meeting in progress, or they just didn't expect cadets to be sneaking around at this time of night.

He finally reached the stairwell leading to his destination without too much difficulty, and without thinking too much about what he might find, he climbed upwards and opened the door.

The first thing he noticed was the dark silhouette near the edge, curled into a tight ball. He instantly felt a wave of relief, then concern as he realized that the shadow was trembling.

"Lance?" he asked cautiously, just to make sure it really was his friend and not some random kid. By the way the person stiffened, he'd guessed right.

"H-Hunk?" a voice replied, and Hunk started. Lance sounded so... small and vulnerable, so unlike his usual boisterous self.

Hunk's protective sibling instincts kicked into high gear, and he rushed forward to kneel beside Lance. His heart broke at the glimpse of tear-stained cheeks in the moonlight before Lance hid his face into his knees hurriedly.

What had happened?

"Lance, are you..." he trailed off. Lance was very obviously not okay. "...Do you want a hug?" he settled on instead, spreading his arms hopefully. Hugs always made him feel better, so he figured it wouldn't hurt to ask.

To Hunk's relief, the dark head bobbed timidly, and a second later, thin arms snaked around his torso and Lance was burying his face into his chest, shaking profusely.

Hunk was shocked at the growing wet spots on his shirt. In the time he'd known Lance, he'd seen the boy cry on more than one occasion (usually during a Disney movie), but this felt different. He was being absolutely silent, save for the occasional sniffle.

Lance was never this quiet.

Once the shaking had died down and Lance's grip loosened, Hunk was dying to ask what had happened.

"Lance-"

"Am I replaceable?"

Hunk jolted. That wasn't what he'd been expecting at all.

Pushing past his confusion, Hunk replied gently. "Of course not. You're one-of-a-kind."

Lance scoffed in disbelief. "You're just saying that."

Hunk's frown deepened. "Lance, what brought this up?"

Guilty silence.

"...Lan-"

"Don't be mad at me, _por favor."_

"Why would I be mad...?"

"Promise you won't be mad."

"I- okay? What's going on?"

Lance inhaled deeply. "I... Well... That one kid, Cedric, and his buddies have been cornering me for the past week, and calling me names and all kinds of stuff, and I know, I _know _ that I shouldn't let it affect me, but then Iverson yelled at me yesterday in the middle of class, and I got into a fight with Veronica, a-and I lost to Keith _again, _ and it just all kinda..."

Lance gave a shaky breath, fingers tightening their grip on Hunk's pajama shirt as he finished his tirade in a whisper. _"It all got to be too much."_

Hunk was absolutely speechless.

Apparently, he let the silence go on for too long, because Lance began to pull away, laughing nervously. "I-I know, it's pathetic, why don't we just go back to bed and pretend this never-"

_"Lance."_

Lance went quiet, eyes falling to the ground. Hunk's stomach twisted at how _scared _ he looked. He'd caused that.

He needed to fix it.

"Lance, buddy, I'm not mad," Hunk began softly, tilting Lance's face up so their eyes met. "I'm just worried, and a little hurt that you didn't come to me. I'm your best friend, right? You look out for me all the time - so why can't I do the same for you?"

Lance's mouth twitched. "Because. I don't deserve to be comforted."

It was such a simple answer, and yet it made Hunk's heart shatter into a million pieces.

"I... Please don't tell me you actually believe that," he begged, searching those blue orbs for any signs of dishonesty, but Lance's uncomfortable shifting was answer enough.

Hunk's resolve hardened. He was just going to have to make sure Lance understood that he was going to be there for him every step of the way, insecurities or not.

"Listen. I want you to make a promise, right here, right now. Promise that you'll come to me if you ever, _ever _ feel this way again. Because if you don't, and I find out, I will feel like scum of the earth for not noticing."

Lance looked mildly horrified. "You aren't scum! You're the greatest best friend a guy could ask for!" he protested passionately.

"Then promise. If you don't, then I'm a trash friend."

Lance gaped at him, before his eyes went steely with determination. "I promise. But _you _ have to promise to never call yourself a 'trash friend' ever again. Deal?"

Hunk laughed lightly. "I promise, buddy. Now, we should probably head back inside before we're caught."

Lance shuddered. "Yeah. I really don't have a good excuse for any we were hanging out on the roof this early in the morning."

Hunk laughed again, and to his relief, Lance joined in.

Everything would be okay.

As long as Lance kept his promise.

* * *

**So, there's my take on their backstory for this fic! I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it! **

**Please leave a review if you've liked this mess of a story so far! I'd really appreciate it! :3**


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